It's Easy Being Green for Banana Republic Wildbloom Vert

Left: Wildbloom Vert fragrance. Right: a place setting at the scent's launch event.

The new Banana Republic Wildbloom Vert Eau de Parfum is the little-sister fragrance to last year’s epically successful Wildbloom Eau de Parfum. The new perfume is green, but not with envy. It belongs to the fragrance category known as “green,” members of which tend to include fresh notes of cut grass, crushed green leaves, and cucumber, among others, in their mixes.

The overall effect is “young and fresh, and very youthful,” says Banana Republic creative director Simon Kneen, who worked with perfumer Ilias Ermenidis (of Firmenich) to create the sibling scent. Erminidis’s CV of fragrance creations is as long as a beanstalk—ranging from Gucci by Gucci to Vera Wang Glam Princess, to Jil Sander Pur, to Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties Love. He’s spent 30 years as a nose, as perfumers are nicknamed, and has been based in New York City for 17. This new green fragrance isn’t like those of yore, which were known for moss and cyprus wood.

“They were always very heavy,” Ermenidis says. “The ingredients are different that we have in our palette today. They give a more transparent and luminous green.” His goal was to align his new cocktail of freshness with the personality of the brand. “It’s optimistic, smiling, bright,” he says. “We like to call this a 'flirty green.'” (O.K., Wildbloom Vert, just try not to make big sis jealous!)